The moment they caught sight of the Demonized Mercenary, everyone drew their swords. The opponent reacted but didn’t move—perhaps observing.

He had messy hair, Leather Armor, and a Longsword in hand—but the light in his eyes was eerie, and he emitted a sinister Miasma, making it clear at a glance that he was no longer human.

What particularly caught my attention was what he held in his left hand. It was—

“…An animal’s leg?”

Sofia said. A leg about the size of a dog’s or cat’s… but it had an atmosphere somehow different from an animal’s leg. This was—

“Is he eating a Monster?”

Sylvie murmured. At that moment, the Mercenary brought the leg to his mouth—and ate it.

Could it be that he summoned the Monsters to eat them? But I can’t believe the Monsters would simply wait to be eaten—

“It’s safer to assume he’s controlling them.”

Kuuza said. Indeed, the Monsters showed no sign of attacking us even when we approached. If that’s the case, the Mercenary is summoning and controlling the Monsters, keeping them on standby to serve as his food.

“His presence suggests he possesses considerable power.”

Sofia said. It was merely a conjecture based on the Magic Power she could sense… but in terms of the magnitude of his presence alone, he might rival an upper-class Demon Race, if not an Executive.

Could it be that this guy hasn’t been defeated by the Warriors who took on the Guild’s request, and has instead been strengthening his abilities by eating Monsters like this? But ordinarily, Monsters can’t do such a thing.

Monsters fundamentally live by feeding on Magic Power, but since there’s a limit to the total amount of Magic Power they can absorb, it’s difficult for them to grow stronger by continuously eating.

However, the Mercenary before us is different. Is it because he’s human, or is he simply abnormal? At this point, Kuuza spoke again.

“…He seems more dangerous than I imagined. What should we do?”

“He seems wary of us too.”

Next to speak was Sylvie.

“There’s a possibility he’s hiding some ability. We’ll have to fight carefully—”

The moment she took a step forward while speaking, the Mercenary moved.

He swept his drawn Longsword horizontally—it became a single Wind Blade, fiercely rushing towards us.

Visually, its power seemed low. Or rather, it was probably a skill focused on speed.

Yet, Sylvie had already reacted and should have been able to block it—but my body moved reflexively.

I raised my sword and parried the Wind Blade. A high-pitched metallic clang echoed around, leaving behind my figure with my sword raised as if to shield Sylvie.

“…That was probably a Mercenary’s skill. Though I imagine it’s enhanced by his Monsterization.”

I analyzed it and tried to step forward. But,

“Wait, Ruon.”

Sylvie’s voice. I understood what she wanted to say, so I spoke to her.

“I understand you want to fight, but it’s an emergency—”

“That’s precisely why. He certainly seems strong, but if we can’t defeat an opponent of this caliber, won’t we be useless in the upcoming War with Demons?”

I fell silent. In the meantime, Sylvie continued to stare at the Mercenary.

“I understand your caution, Ruon… but even so, let us handle this.”

—I was certainly on edge because an unexpected event had occurred. That’s why I was also ready to fight, but it seemed Sylvie was making this proposal precisely because of this situation.

“I agree with that as well.”

Sofia said too. Their resolve to fight without me seemed firm. So, I also nodded slightly.

“Well then, shall we do this?”

Kuuza readied his staff—the three stood side by side, confronting the Mercenary. The opponent’s presence was overwhelming, but along with that, I was concerned about the Monsters behind the Mercenary.

They didn’t appear from deep within the thicket, but there were definitely Monsters around. They showed no sign of moving, but if the Mercenary himself was controlling the Monsters, they could attack at any moment—

Immediately after, Sylvie moved. She closed the distance with the speed of a疾Wind and swept her sword. It was ‘Belial Slash,’ an Intermediate Technique. The horizontally flashed sword undoubtedly possessed power strong enough to blow something away.

However, the Mercenary calmly received it. Not only that, he firmly blocked her accelerating blade and even repelled it.

His Body Enhancement also seemed to be at a considerable level. Sylvie realized that a test of strength would be disadvantageous and retreated. I thought the Mercenary would pursue, but he didn’t attack. He dealt with the pressure calmly, but… from my perspective, it looked like he was too bothered to move and didn’t want to deal with us.

“—Light!”

Immediately after she retreated, Kuuza unleashed a spell. The pale light suggested it was “Holy Lance.”

Spears of Light, greatly concentrated with magic power, were fired at the Mercenary. The power was sufficient. In response, the opponent slowly readied their sword,

“–Lightning Flash!”

Furthermore, Sofia’s “Lightning” was unleashed. The Spears of Light hit the Mercenary, but they were completely slow to react to the Lightning Strike and took a direct hit.

The Lightning Flash pierced the Mercenary’s body… but it only stopped their movement for an instant, with no visible damage.

“Their endurance seems high too.”

Sylvie commented, then moved again. What she was about to unleash was the same “Belial Slash” as before, but the moment the Mercenary tried to respond, the sword’s movement changed significantly.

A feint–immediately after realizing it, the Mercenary understood what was happening and for the first time tried to counterattack. But then Kuuza’s “Holy Shot” landed. It hit their arm directly, and while it caused no damage, it stiffened their movement for an instant.

For Sylvie, that instant was enough. The high-speed sword technique “Instantaneous Blade” followed immediately, landing perfectly.

Then, Sofia approached and launched an attack. The sheer amount of magic power was considerable–it was the same advanced magic technique she had been using all along, “Dragon of Dawn.”

A full-force sword strike was unleashed by Sofia. The Mercenary seemed to try to evade, but was a step too late and took a direct hit. From the sword that entered vertically from their right shoulder, they must have definitely felt the impact.

I thought this would be the end–but the Mercenary attacked without any loss of momentum. Their target was Sofia. It was a strike from the Mercenary who had abandoned defense for offense, but she received it with her sword and retreated from the recoil.

During that time, Sylvie pursued. Kuuza further assisted with a “Holy Shot” to restrict the sword’s movement, and this time, delivered a slash with “Sky-Piercing Violent Wave” to the Mercenary. As a result, the Mercenary finally retreated.

But there was no sign of them being defeated, and Sylvie prepared to attack again.

In an instant, magic power erupted from the Mercenary–it was an amount that even surprised me.

“–Huh!?”

Sylvie instinctively backed away. Sofia also immediately retreated, and then the Mercenary swung their sword.

It wasn’t aimed at them. A black shockwave was released from the tip of the sword, heading towards us.

“–Protect!”

At that moment, Kuuza cast a spell. It was probably an application of “Magic Shield,” and a pale green barrier appeared in front of Sofia and the others.

If this works–I thought, and immediately after, the barrier and the black collided. Kuuza’s magic barely held, but it was more powerful than expected, resulting in a neutralization.

“……If we get hit by that attack, it seems dangerous.”

Sylvie said.

“Plus, their durability is quite high. Whether they’re not attacking us because they’re confident, or if there’s another reason–“

Immediately after her words, the Mercenary’s magic power swelled even further. For us, who are used to battle, it wasn’t a problem, but for ordinary people, it would be enough to cause dizziness or even collapse.

How many monsters did they devour to become this strong…? While questions piled up, perhaps due to the damage they had taken–the Mercenary moved first.